Manchester United have signed the new Roy Keane

Since Roy Keane left the club in 2005, Manchester United fans have been crying out for a tenacious midfielder who has the ability to take the game by the scruff of the neck and drive his team forward.

On a number of occasions for Everton, Marouane Fellaini has been a thorn in the side of the Old Trafford club. In a last minute transfer deadline day deal, the 6ft4in Belgian international joined the Premier League champions for £27.5 million, reuniting himself with manager David Moyes. Here's a specified look at what he may bring to his new club.

United have lacked a driving force in the middle of the park since Keane's departure - an essential part of any great side. While the club had Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes running the show during their 2008 Champions League during to the final, there seemed to be something missing and that was a void neither Michael Carrick who was initially bought to replace Keane nor Owen Hargreaves could fill.

While Carrick has been a good servant since joining the club for £18 million in 2006, he hasn't given United the same drive and determination notorious with the Premier League champions' success. Hargreaves on the other hand was plagued by injuries which only further held him back from becoming a key figure in the United squad.

Darren Fletcher has also been a fine squad player but due to career and possibly even life threatening illness, he may never play at Old Trafford again. Despite early signs showing he may be the next big thing for United, Tom Cleverley has in all due respect failed to win many fans of the club and playing in the ''Scholes'' role is a tough position to fill.

New United manager David Moyes has been up against it ever since being confirmed as the club's new manager since the sudden retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, who had been the boss for almost 27 years.

Initially, Moyes tried to sign Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona however the 22 year old joined Champions League winners Bayern Munich over the the Premier League giants. Next it was fellow Barcelona and former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas but United were once again rebuffed on a number of occasions and it seemed as if the club would have to once again rely on Carrick and Cleverley in midfield.

That was until the eleventh hour of the transfer deadline day, with Fellaini handing in a transfer request in order to force a move to Manchester United, Moyes wasted no time in offering his former club £27.5 million for the man who scored 12 Premier League goals last season.

The Belgian midfielder is ideal to what United have been looking for a number of years, a combative midfielder that is capable of creating chances for teammates and taking them for himself.

Fellaini will also allow the likes of Shinji Kagawa the freedom to roam forward and take more chances in the final third. Other than Kagawa with six, no other United midfielder scored more than two Premier League goals, a clear sign that something needed to change.

The purchase of Fellaini puts to bed the doubt fans of the club had about the quality in midfield because as his performances showed last season, the imposing afro sporting Belgian is one of the best players in the Premier League in his position.

With the deal happening just a few hours ago, many fans are divided on the club's newest acquisition. Surely though that can only be to do with the figure of the transfer fee. Last season during the first game of the campaign, Everton defeated United 1-0 at Goodison Park.

Fellaini was the difference as he dominated the game from back to front and scored the winning goal. It was a similar scenario at Old Trafford a few months prior as the sides drew 4-4 with Fellaini once again terrorising his new club and scoring against United once again.

He is exactly the player the club has been seeking for years. It is no surprise that along with left-back Leighton Baines, Fellaini was the player Moyes desperately wanted to sign from his old club.

Fellaini scored 33 goals in 177 appearances for the Toffees following a £15 million move from Belgian club Standard Liege in 2008. The biggest question facing Fellaini is not just how well he'll perform stepping up to United's expectations but also how well he will do in his first chance at Champions League football.

As stated previously, at times Manchester United have looked increasingly fragile in this position. This was exemplified even more so when the club encouraged veteran midfielder Paul Scholes to come out of retirement at the age of 37.

The United legend retired after winning his eleventh Premier League winners medal at the end of last season. Since his final departure, there has been a degree of anxiety around Old Trafford that United do not have a squad sufficient enough to retain the Premier League title.

While Fellaini does not answer every doubt and certainly fans of the club are still pondering whether or not additions need to be made, he certainly increases the side's chances of competing in the middle of the park where for the last two seasons in particular they have looked very weak.

This means that Carrick may now be seen as surplus to requirements and may find first team football hard to come by. There's now doubt the club's newest acquisition will be one of the first names on the sheet, at least for the first few weeks and if he matches or betters his performances in the past for Everton, he will be a key figure for the Premier League champions for years to come.

He has won 42 caps for Belgium thus far and has scored seven times for his country. In 2009 he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award and it's fair to say his stock has continued to rise since his debut season in English football.

For United fans, there should be optimism going forward, as stated previously Fellaini doesn't solve every problem the club has in its squad but he may have just solved the longest and the biggest problem.

It remains to be seen how the club's first XI takes shape with this new signing but one thing is for certain: Fellaini strengthens his new side in the most vital area on the pitch.

Do you think Manchester United manager David Moyes made the right choice signing Marouane Fellaini from his old club Everton? Or was the transfer fee paid too much for a player who is yet to taste Champions League football? Have your say below.

DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

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DISCLAIMER

This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of
GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article.
GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

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